1. Purpose

1.1 To inform Cabinet of the Council’s performance for monthly performance indicators for December 2008 and quarterly for September to December 2008.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That Cabinet note the contents of the report.

3. Issues and Choices

3.1 Report Background

3.1.1. Performance data is collected across a range of Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI’s) and locally developed indicators. Most BVPI’s are collected monthly, with others collected either quarterly or annually. The reporting of BVPI’s together with a small number of locally determined indicators forms the basis of our performance monitoring process.

3.1.2. Performance data is available by the 20th of the following month; this allows for data to be transferred onto our database and quality assured to ensure that data quality standards are met. This report summarises monthly and quarterly performance data for December and September- December 2008. 3.2 Overall Performance

Monthly Indicators

- 58% of indicators have ‘green’ status and have achieved target, compared to 64% last month.
- 8% of indicators have ‘amber’ status and have performed just below target but within the agreed tolerance, compared to 3% last month.
- 31% of indicators have ‘red’ status, have not achieved target and are outside the agreed tolerance, no change against last month
- 3% of indicators have no status this month, as no data was available
- 64% of all monthly indicators show improved performance against the same time last year, compared to 61% last month.

Quarterly Indicators

Due to the implementation of a new IT system, a significant number of measures could not be reported during this quarter. Therefore, the summary figures below will not be representative of true performance over the period and should be read in that context. Please also refer to section 3.3 below.

- 15.5% of indicators have ‘green’ status and have achieved target, compared to 34% last quarter.
- 12.5% of indicators have ‘amber’ status and have performed just below target but within the agreed tolerance, compared to 6% last quarter.
- 50% of indicators have ‘red’ status, have not achieved target and are outside the agreed tolerance compared to 53% last quarter
- 22% of indicators have no status this month, as no data was available
- 16% of all quarterly indicators show improved performance against the same time last year, compared to 34% last quarter.

Notable performance trends across all monthly and quarterly performance data for December and September–December 2008 include:

Performance Improvement:

Neighbourhood Environmental Services

- Targets are being exceeded in 69% of indicators (9 of 13);
- 100% of flytips have been removed within 2 days for the sixth consecutive month (ELPI 5);
- 100% of missed collections were put right within 24 hours for the ninth consecutive month (ELPI 10);
- The number of kilograms of household waste collected per head has reduced for the third consecutive month, with a 23% reduction since September 2008. This months performance represents the lowest number of kilograms collected this reporting year (BV 84a);
- 100% of new reports of abandoned vehicles were investigated within 24 hours of notification. The overall performance for this indicator is now 4.1% above target (BV 218a); Public Protection
- Three of the monthly indicators have improved when compared to the same time last year and are achieving the annual target to date. The remaining indicator shows equal performance over the same period;
- The number of violent crimes per year, per 1,000 population to date has reduced by 15% when compared to the same time last year (BV 127a);
- The number of vehicles crimes per year has dropped to 0.9 (per 1,000 population). This is the lowest figure reported this year (BV 128);

Revenues and Benefits

- 75% (6 of 8) of indicators are currently exceeding their targets. Another indicator, Percentage of non domestic rates due for the year which were received by the authority, is within the agreed tolerance;
- 88% (7 of 8) of indicators have improved performance when compared to the same time last year;
- The speed of processing new claims and change in circumstances has improved with reductions in time taken of 42% and 34% respectively, compared to the same time last year (BV 78a & BV 78b);

Planning

- 100% (3 out of 3) of comparable monthly indicators show improvement when compared to the same time last year. The new National Indicator that divides large and small scale major applications cannot be compared (NI 157a LM and NI 157a SM);
- Targets are being exceeded in 80% (4 out of 5) of the planning monthly indicators, the exception being small scale major applications (NI 157a & b, NI 157c and PLI 188);
- If current performance levels are maintained for both “minor” and “other” planning applications for the rest of the year, it is likely that the Council will be performing amongst the top 25% of authorities within the country (NI 157b and NI 157c);

Landlord Services

- The proportion of Council House rent collected in December was the highest of the year so far, at 111.36%. Rent income collection includes the collection of current rent due and rent arrears from previous months. The amount of total arrears is being reduced however; the percentage of current rent collected has fallen. Seasonal activity and the effects of the current economic climate are both likely to have impacted on this indicator performance during this period
- The percentage of local tenants with more than 7 weeks (gross) rent arrears reduced to the lowest level since April 2008. (BV66b).

Performance Deterioration:

Neighbourhood Environmental Services

- 88.89% (162 of 169) of abandoned vehicles were removed within 24 hours from the point at which the Authority is legally entitled to remove the vehicle. This fell below 90% in the month, for only the second time this reporting year. Overall performance in this indicator is still above target (BV218b);
- The highest number of missed collections was reported in December. The implementation of Route Smart in June 2008 and the rise in contaminated recycling boxes has impacted on performance of this indicator. (ELPI 6); Public Protection
- The number of domestic burglaries per year, per 1,000 households increased in December. This is consistent with the seasonal trend however; the current economic climate may also be impacting on this measure. Current overall performance is the same as this time last year. Current performance has already exceeded the annual target of 13.9 (BV 126);

Culture & Leisure

- All three indicators are performing below target. Updated guidance requiring staff and contractor visits to be removed from this indicator calculation has impacted on results. This was not known at the time the target was agreed. Benchmarking work with neighbouring authorities has highlighted a similar downturn in numbers of pupils visiting museums and galleries in organised school groups. (BV 170a, 170b and 170c);

Revenues & Benefits

- All quarterly Housing Benefit measures are failing to meet their target. Three have deteriorated in performance since last quarter, the number of fraud investigators employed per 1,000 caseload, housing benefit overpayments recovered and the accuracy of processing benefit claims. (BV 76b, BV76bi, BV79a);

Planning

- The two quarterly indicators are performing below target, deteriorating in performance against last quarter and last year;
- Performance of planning appeals allowed against the authority’s decision to refuse planning applications has deteriorated over the last quarter. An interim Development Control Manager has been appointed to improve performance. (BV 204);

Housing service

- The percentage of tenants evicted as a result of rent arrears increased compared to last month and is the third highest figure of the year so far. The level of evictions is due to the targeting of wilful non-payers. Action is being taken to reach agreements to pay debts rather than undertake enforcement action in instances where tenants wish to resolve their debt. (BV66d).

3.3 Data Quality The Council has processes in place to ensure that the data and information it provides to support management decision-making is as reliable as possible. The Council has a strategy to improve data quality and service areas are working to achieve the objectives within it. This is closely linked to the Council’s risk assessment processes and is monitored monthly as part of the Council’s Performance Management Framework.

Current Key Risks and Issues;

The recent upgrade to the Agresso system is being closely monitored and reports enabling data to be reported have yet to be created tested and validated to ensure data quality. This is a significant issue at this time of the year due to the need to calculate and validate final outturn data in April 2009.

3.4 Choices (Options) None. 4. Implications (including financial implications)

4.1 Policy None.

4.2 Resources and Risk Failure to deliver performance in line with targets exposes the council to reputation risk and impacts on improvement progress.

4.3 Legal None.

4.4 Equality None.

4.5 Consultees (Internal and External) Internal – Performance data is published across the Council External – The Lead Official; Audit Commission; partners; publication of performance data on our website.

4.6 How the Proposals deliver Priority Outcomes Improvement Plan – Performance management, including the monitoring of data, is a key priority in the Improvement Plan

Corporate Plan – Performance management, including the monitoring of data, is critical in ensuring the Corporate Plan objectives are delivered.

4.7 Other Implications None

5. Background Papers

5.1 Monthly Performance Report for December 2008, Quarterly Performance Report for September- December 2008

Dale Robertson, Head of Performance & Improvement Performance & Improvement - Ext 7110